IDU Reference Group
The Reference Group to the UN on HIV and Injecting Drug Use

Data: Regional

Below you can view data tables describing the extent of injecting drug use and HIV among injecting drug users (IDUs), and interventions for the prevention, treatment and care of HIV among IDUs.

These data have been gathered from systematic reviews undertaken by the Reference Group, details of which are described in peer-reviewed papers.

We welcome your feedback. To comment on any of these data, or to suggest better data to be considered by the Reference Group, please click on the data in question and complete the ‘contest this data’ form. Alternatively contact the Secretariat of the Reference Group by email.

How to use these tables:

At step 1 (below):

By selecting Global you can view global data showing overall regional-level estimates.
By selecting a specific region you can view national-level estimates for countries in that region.
By selecting a country you can view data across all interventions for that country.

At step 2 (below):

Selecting different icons displays data on each of the different interventions at the global or regional level (as selected above) respectively.

Within these tables:

Clicking on any of the data reveals details of source documents and how indicator estimates were made.

1.
Select :
Global
>
Latin America
>
Click to select country
- Argentina
- Belize
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Guatemala
- Guyana
- Honduras
- Mexico
- Nicaragua
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Suriname
- Uruguay
- Venezuela

IDU Reference Group

The Reference Group to the UN on HIV and Injecting Drug Use

2.
Select:
IDU and HIV prevalence
Needle and syringe
programs
Opioid substitution therapy
Other drug treatment
HIV testing and counselling
Antiretroviral therapy
Condom programs

Latin America: IDU and HIV Prevalence

Prevalence of injecting drug use
Estimated number of people who inject drugs (for 2008)
Prevalence of HIV among people who inject drugs

Contest the data

We welcome your feedback. To comment on any of these data, or to suggest better data to be considered by the Reference Group, please click on the data in question and complete the 'contest this data' form. Alternatively, contact the Secretariat of the Reference Group by email.

About these indicators

Prevalence of injecting drug use
Estimated prevalence (%) of past-year injecting drug use among the general population aged 15-64 years.

Estimated number of people who inject drugs (for 2008)
Estimates calculated using IDU prevalence estimates (above) and UN population estimates for 2008 of the general population aged 15-64 years.

Prevalence of HIV among people who inject drugs
Estimated prevalence (%) of HIV among IDUs.

Latin America: Needle and syringe programs

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Have NSPs been implemented?
Number of NSP sites
Number of NSP sites per 1000 IDUs
Number of needles-syringes distributed from NSPs in a 12 month period
Number of needles-syringes distributed from NSPs per IDU per year
Number of IDUs accessing NSPs in a 12 month period
Percentage of IDUs accessing NSPs in a 12 month period
Number of NSP occasions of service (total number of client contact events) in 12 month period
Number of NSP occasions of service in a 12 month period per 100 IDU

Peru
No
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.00

Contest the data

We welcome your feedback. To comment on any of these data, or to suggest better data to be considered by the Reference Group, please click on the data in question and complete the 'contest this data' form. Alternatively, contact the Secretariat of the Reference Group by email.

About this intervention

Needle Syringe Programs
Needles and syringe programs provide sterile injecting equipment to injecting drug users. NSPs may operate from fixed sites, mobile services or through outreach workers. Here we consider NSPs as those services where injecting equipment are provided for free. In many countries injecting equipment may be purchased from pharmacies – these are considered separately here. More information... http://www.who.int/hiv/topics/idu/needles/en/

About these indicators

Have NSPs been implemented?
Includes programmes providing sterile needles and syringes for free. Does not include sites where needles and syringes are only available for purchase, such as pharmacies.

Number of NSP sites
Total number of sites where needles and syringes are distributed, includes: fixed-site NSPs, mobile NSP services, locations where out-reach is used to deliver needles and syringes and vending machines. Does not include sites where needles and syringes are only available for purchase, such as pharmacies.

Number of NSP sites per 1000 IDUs
Numerator: number of NSP sites
Denominator: estimated number of IDUs /1000
Gives a very broad indication of the scale of NSP implementation relative to the size of the IDU target population; findings are context specific and it is important to also consider the geographic distribution of the target population and other local factors that might influence accessibility of NSP sites.

Number of needles-syringes distributed from NSPs in a 12 month period
Total number of needles-syringes distributed from NSPs in a 12 month period (from program data)

Number of needles-syringes distributed from NSPs per IDU per year
Numerator: total number of needles-syringes distributed from NSPs in a 12 month period (from program data)
Denominator: estimated number of IDUs

Number of IDUs accessing NSPs in a 12 month period
Total number of individual IDUs who accessed an NSP in a 12 month period (from program data); this is a count of individual clients and not the number of contact events or occasions of service.

Percentage of IDUs accessing NSPs in a 12 month period
Numerator: total number of individual IDUs who accessed an NSP in a 12 month period (from program data); this is a count of individual clients and not the number of contact events or occasions of service.
Denominator: estimated number of IDUs

Number of NSP occasions of service (total number of client contact events) in 12 month period
Count of all occasions of clients accessing an NSP in a 12 month period (from program data)

Number of NSP occasions of service in a 12 month period per 100 IDU
Ratio of number of NSP occasions of service in 12 months : estimated IDU population
Numerator: Count of all occasions of clients accessing an NSP in a 12 month period (from program data)
Denominator: estimated number of IDUs

Latin America: Opioid substitution therapy

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Is opioid substitution therapy (OST) available?
Is methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) available?
Is buprenorphine maintenance treatment (BMT) available?
Are other forms of opioid substitution therapy available?
Number of sites where OST is available
Number of OST sites per 1000 IDUs
Number of MMT recipients
Number of BMT recipients
Number of recipients of other forms of OST
Number of all OST recipients
Number of OST recipients per 100 IDUs

Argentina
No
No
No
No
0
0.0
0
0
0
0
0

Bolivia
No
No
No
No
0
0.0
0
0
0
0
0

Brazil
No
No
No
No
0
0.0
0
0
0
0
0

Chile
No
No
No
No
0
0.0
0
0
0
0
0

Ecuador
No
No
No
No
0
0.0
0
0
0
0
0

El Salvador
No
No
No
No
0
0.0
0
0
0
0
0

Nicaragua
No
No
No
No
0
0.0
0
0
0
0
0

Paraguay
No
No
No
No
0
0.0
0
0
0
0
0

Peru
No
No
No
No
0
0.0
0
0
0
0
0

Suriname
No
No
No
No
0
0.0
0
0
0
0
0

Uruguay
No
No
No
No
0
0.0
0
0
0
0
0

Contest the data

We welcome your feedback. To comment on any of these data, or to suggest better data to be considered by the Reference Group, please click on the data in question and complete the 'contest this data' form. Alternatively, contact the Secretariat of the Reference Group by email.

About this intervention

Opioid Substitution Programs
Opioid substitution therapy involves the provision, under medical supervision, of opioids such as methadone, buprenorphine and diamorphine (pharmaceutical heroin) to people who are opioid dependent. Both methadone and buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid dependence are included in the WHO list of essential medicines. More information... http://www.who.int/hiv/topics/idu/drug_dep...

About these indicators

Is opioid substitution therapy (OST) available?

Is methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) available?

Is buprenorphine maintenance treatment (BMT) available?

Are other forms of opioid substitution therapy available?

Number of sites where OST is available
Data on the number of sites where OST is available is reported defiantly in different countries: in some the number of specialist OST clinics are reported (in some settings these may be the only OST sites that do exist); in others the number of OST dispensing points are reported, this may include pharmacies, specialist clinics or other medical settings; for other countries the number of medical practitioners who prescribe OST is reported, or the number of sites where one may obtain a prescription for OST. Where available, details specifying the type of data referred to can be viewed by clicking on each piece of data in the tables.

Number of OST sites per 1000 IDUs
Numerator: number of sites where OST is available
Denominator: estimated number of IDUs /1000
Gives a very broad indication of the scale of OST program implementation relative to the size of the IDU population; findings are context specific and it is important to also consider the geographic distribution of the target population and other local factors that might influence accessibility of OST sites; further, in many countries not all IDUs are opioid users.

Number of MMT recipients
Total number of all MMT recipients at a single point in time; including both IDUs and drug users who do not inject (from program data)

Number of BMT recipients
Total number of all BMT recipients at a single point in time; including both IDUs and drug users who do not inject (from program data)

Number of recipients of other forms of OST
Total number of recipients of other forms of OST at a single point in time; including both IDUs and drug users who do not inject (from program data)

Number of all OST recipients
Total number of all OST recipients at a single point in time; including both IDUs and drug users who do not inject (from program data)

Number of OST recipients per 100 IDUs
Numerator: total number of all OST recipients at a single point in time; including both IDUs and drug users who do not inject (from program data)
Denominator: estimated number of IDUs
Not all IDUs use opioids and not all OST recipients are IDUs. Because data on the number of opioid injectors and the number of IDUs receiving OST were available for very few countries it was not possible to report on the percentage of opioid IDUs who were recipients of OST. In order to gain some sense of the scale of OST programs relative to the size of the injecting population the ratio of all OST recipients to the total number of IDUs was calculated.

Latin America: HIV Testing and Counselling

Number of HIV testing and counselling sites specifically for IDUs
Number of HIV testing and counselling sites offering services to general population and accessible to IDUs
Percentage of IDUs accessing HIV testing and counselling in 12 month period

Contest the data

We welcome your feedback. To comment on any of these data, or to suggest better data to be considered by the Reference Group, please click on the data in question and complete the 'contest this data' form. Alternatively, contact the Secretariat of the Reference Group by email.

About this intervention

HIV Testing and Counselling
HIV testing and counselling may be client initiated (voluntary testing and counselling), or in some circumstances provider initiated. HIV testing and counselling is an important gateway to HIV treatment and care. More information... http://www.who.int/hiv/topics/vct/en/

About these indicators

Number of HIV testing and counselling sites specifically for IDUs
The number of services targeting IDUs, either specifically or exclusively (for example NSPs), where HIV testing and counselling is available.

Number of HIV testing and counselling sites offering services to general population and accessible to IDUs
Total number of sites where HIV testing and counselling is available to the general population that are also accessible to IDUs.

Percentage of IDUs accessing HIV testing and counselling in 12 month period
The percentage of IDUs who have undergone testing for HIV in the last 12 months and who know the result as determined by surveys of samples of IDUs; such surveys are often undertaken of samples of sentinel populations (eg. Behavioural Surveillance Surveys (BSS); this indicator is also reported on by countries as part of the reporting process for the UNGASS (on AIDS) Declaration of Commitment.

Latin America: Antiretroviral Therapy

Number of ART provision sites
Number of ART provision sites per 1000 IDUs living with HIV
Number of IDUs receiving ARVs at a single point in time
Number of IDUs on ARVs per 100 IDUs living with HIV

Contest the data

We welcome your feedback. To comment on any of these data, or to suggest better data to be considered by the Reference Group, please click on the data in question and complete the 'contest this data' form. Alternatively, contact the Secretariat of the Reference Group by email.

About this intervention

Antiretroviral Therapy
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) consists of the use of a combination of antiretroviral drugs to suppress the HIV virus and stop the progression of HIV disease. Huge reductions have been seen in rates of death and suffering when use is made of a potent ARV regimen. More information... http://www.who.int/hiv/topics/idu/care/en/

About these indicators

Number of ART provision sites
Data on number of sites where ART is available, may include: specialist clinics, hospitals or other medical or community settings.

Number of ART provision sites per 1000 IDUs living with HIV
Numerator: number of ART provision sites
Denominator: estimated number of IDUs living with HIV /1000
Gives a very broad indication of the ARV availability relative to the size of the HIV positive IDU population

Number of IDUs receiving ARVs at a single point in time
Total number of IDUs receiving ART at a single point in time (from program data); available estimates of IDUs receiving ART are commonly taken from ART registries reporting likely HIV exposure category and may not accurately reflect the total number of all IDUs receiving ART.

Number of IDUs on ARVs per 100 IDUs living with HIV
Numerator: total number of IDUs receiving ART at a single point in time (from program data)
Denominator: estimated number of IDUs living with HIV
Estimating the coverage of ART to those in need requires estimates of the cumulative number of people how have injected drugs and become infected with HIV and meet criteria for the initiation of ART as well estimates of those who are receiving it. Because such estimates were not available in order to gain some sense of the scale of ART provision for IDU relative to the number of IDUs infected with HIV the ratio of all IDUs receiving ART at a single point in time to the estimated number of IDUs living with HIV was calculated. It is important to note that not all IDUs living with HIV will meet criteria for initiation of ART, criteria which themselves may differ in different settings. In addition the estimates of IDUs living with HIV used here are for current IDUs and the former IDUs infected with HIV may be excluded from these estimates. Further, counts of IDUs receiving ART are commonly taken from ART registries reporting likely HIV exposure category and may not accurately reflect the number of all IDUs receiving ART.

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